Schnabel is named interim VP for research

INDIANAPOLIS -- Indiana University President Michael A. McRobbie today (July 16) announced that Informatics Dean Robert B. Schnabel will serve as interim vice president for research while a search continues to permanently fill the position.

Schnabel has served as dean of the IU School of Informatics since July 1, 2007, and he will continue in that role while also assuming the leadership role for pursuing and broadening new opportunities for research activities at Indiana University's eight campuses. The IU Board of Trustees approved the interim appointment today during a special meeting at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis.

McRobbie said he asked Schnabel to temporarily assume the additional duties because the national search for a permanent appointment was continuing and that some issues needed to be addressed immediately.

An acclaimed computer scientist and researcher, Schnabel has led efforts at the School of Informatics to broaden the impacts of information technology by championing multidisciplinary collaborations and promoting diversity.

McRobbie said that in addition to his national reputation as an academic leader and scientist, Schnabel brings a demonstrated record for recognizing the increasing importance of developing global networks to enhance educational and economic opportunities.

"I am very pleased that Dean Schnabel has agreed to take on these additional responsibilities at a time when the importance of promoting and facilitating productive research has never been greater," McRobbie said. "Since his appointment as dean, he has rapidly mastered the complexities of cross-campus collaboration on research projects, which is vital to our long-term strategy of optimizing our resources to become more competitive for major research grants."

Schnabel will be responsible for an office charged with developing and advancing new research opportunities at state, national and international scales, in addition to overseeing compliance with research rules and regulations, preparing and tracking grant proposals, and negotiating awards and contracts with private industry and government agencies.

In fiscal year 2007-2008 Indiana University received a record $525.3 million in grants and awards, more than half of that from federal sources.

"I am both humbled and excited that President McRobbie has asked me to advance the research mission of an institution with such an outstanding record of productivity and academic accomplishment," Schnabel said. "I look forward to doing everything possible to foster the successful work of Indiana University scientists, and to see that those efforts result in benefits, both economic and social, to the people of Indiana."

Schnabel came to IU in 2007 from the University of Colorado at Boulder, where he served as vice provost/associate vice chancellor for academic and campus technology and professor of computer science.

Prior to that, he was associate dean for academic affairs, College of Engineering and Applied Science, and chair of the Department of Computer Science, where his research and teaching interests included numerical computation, parallel computation, applications to molecular chemistry, and diversifying participation in computing and information technology, both in the areas of education and workforce development.

Schnabel has been principal investigator or co-principal investigator on research projects representing more than $30 million in research funding from the National Science Foundation, the Army Research Office, the Air Force Office of Scientific Research and other organizations.

He is a co-founder and a member of the executive team of the National Center for Women & Information Technology, and is active in a number of committees and alliances involving minority-serving institutions.

Schnabel earned his doctorate and master's degrees in computer science from Cornell University and his undergraduate degree in mathematics from Dartmouth College.